


A Solemn Anniversary

by XProSkeith



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Best Friends, Brothers, Brotp, Comfort, Coping, Friendship, Gen, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-02-22
Packaged: 2018-01-13 09:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1221022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XProSkeith/pseuds/XProSkeith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles has a particularly hard time with the anniversary of his mother's death this year and reflects back on the day of her death and how Scott helped him. Story wise, this would take place sometime between season 3 A and season 3 B and before the effects of the sacrifice start to show up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Solemn Anniversary

Stiles looked out the window of the classroom. It was frigid day with snow falling and in spite of it being ten in the morning, the sky was black and blue. The sun just couldn't seem to pierce the icy clouds. Stiles sighed. It was just like that night. Today made seven years since his mom had died. He thought that he'd gotten over it and that things were just going to be easy now, but no. This year was especially hard for some reason. It was eating at him almost as much as the first anniversary. He didn't know why it was so hard this time. He looked back at Coach. He was rambling about something that Stiles didn't really care about. He didn't seem to have noticed Stiles zoning out, so he looked back at the window and he began to remember, letting himself slip into the memory.

* * *

Stiles was ten years old again, sitting in the hospital with his nearly dead mom. The doctors said that she didn't have long and that she might not make it through the night. His dad said he'd be there, but he still wasn't. He must have gotten tied up at work. Stiles couldn't blame him. His dad's job was important. He knew that, but he still wanted him to be there. Stiles suddenly felt a warmth over his left hand and a small squeeze. He looked to his left to see Scott sitting right next to him. That's right, how could he have forgotten? His best friend since they popped out of their mothers' wombs was there with him. He smiled brightly and genuinely at Stiles like he always did as he squeezed Stiles' hand gently. He was always so happy and somehow he always managed to be able to calm Stiles down and get him to focus and relax.

"Hey," Scott said. "It's alright, Stiles. I'm here with you."

"Yeah, I know," Stiles replied. "It's just... Y'know..."

Scott nodded. Stiles didn't need to say anything. They understood each other without needing to really communicate verbally. Stiles looked back at his mom and squeezed Scott's hand tightly. Scott didn't move. He just stayed their with him. Stiles finally spoke up.

"You know," said Stiles. "She doesn't remember who I am. Or anyone really..."

Scott looked at this friend as his voice trailed off and said, "Stiles, she could never forget you. I mean, you're a pretty unforgettable dude!"

Stiles looked at the ground and said, "Yeah, well the last time she was awake she didn't recognize my dad or me. She didn't even remember her own name."

"She hasn't forgotten you, Stiles. I know that for sure."

"Yeah, well, what proof do you-"

Stiles was cut off by a sudden movement and sound from his mom's bed. Both of them looked at Mrs. Stilinski.

"S... Stiles," she muttered.

Stiles was on his feet and at his mom's side in an instant. He took her hand in both of his. Hit attention was solely on her. Scott stood up as well, but he stayed back to allow them to have their moment. Claudia opened her eyes slightly and moved her head to look at Stiles. The sight of him brought a weak smile to her face.

"Stiles...," she said. "I love you... I'm... Sorry."

With that, her eyes closed and the alarms began to sound. That all-too-telling beep indicating that his mother had flatlined. Stiles' eyes widened in shock.

"Mom? MOM?!" shouted Stiles with escalating volume as he shook her hand trying to wake her up.

The doctors and nurses rushed into the room and Scott had to pull Stiles back from his mother. They watched as the doctors tried their best to resuscitate her, but ultimately failed to revive her. The team began to pack up the crash cart and the doctor declared the time of death. He turned around and saw Scott and Stiles standing there. All he could say was, "I'm so sorry". Scott looked over at Stiles just in time to see him take off running through the hospital. Scott quickly ran after him. After a little while, he lost track of him. Scott spun around in  circle, looking for any sign of Stiles. He didn't see anything, but he just had feeling that he needed to get outside. He ran out the back entrance of the hospital and immediately saw Stiles collapsed on his hands and knees in the snow. The sky was black and blue and there was no sign of the sun. Scott hurried to Stiles' side and realized that he was crying. But that wasn't all. He also noticed that Stiles was having trouble breathing. There was a panicked expression on his face. Scott quickly pulled Stiles to his feet.

"Stiles!" shouted Scott. "Breath, man! You have to breathe."

Stiles couldn't make out any words and his face was turning blue. Scott was really worried now and he wasn't quite sure what to do. His mind was racing, but he was just a kid. He had no idea what to do. Without thinking any further, Scott grabbed Stiles and pulled him in for a very tight hug. He could feel how weak and cold Stiles was. Scott was crying a little bit now too as he said, "Please, Stiles. I can't lose you."

Stiles' breathing suddenly became less ragged and began to return to normal. As it did and his strength returned, he returned the tight hug to Scott and said, "Thanks, but don't worry. I'd never leave you."

The two separated from each. Scott looked at Stiles, holding him at arms length with his hands on Stiles' shoulders.

"You know I'm always here for you, man," Scott said.

Stiles nodded and replied, "Yeah, I know. I just... I just..."

Scott shook his head and said, "I understand. You don't need to say anything."

He smiled brightly at Stiles and flung his arm over his best friend's shoulder. Stiles couldn't help but smile back at him. It was going to be rough, but he couldn't help but feel like everything was going to be alright as long as Scott was there to help him. The two walked back into the hospital.

* * *

 

Stiles was snapped back to reality by the lunch bell ringing. He quickly packed his things and hurried to the cafeteria. Scott was already there waiting for him. He went towards the lunch line, but Scott stopped him.

"Let's go," said Scott.

"Huh?" replied Stiles, honestly surprised. "Go where? It's only lunch, Scott."

Scott looks Stiles directly in his eyes. He tried to hide it, but there's no hiding anything from Scott. One look was all he needed to know everything he needed to know about what was wrong with Stiles. Scott finally said, "Somewhere not here. We'll take your jeep, but we're going.  Now."

Stiles didn't argue. He and Scott hurried to the parking lot where they climbed into Stiles's old jeep and took off. Scott hadn't said anything, but Stiles somehow knew where he was going. He wasn't sure where he was taking them, but he still seemed to know the way. Scott finally spoke up.

"I know you're having a rough time, buddy," Scott said.

"What gave you that idea? Your super werewolf senses or something?" asked Stiles trying to deflect the question a bit with sarcasm.

"No, I just had to take one look in your eyes. I've known you long enough, Stiles. I know when you're suffering and don't want anyone to know about it. You're afraid of burdening your friends. Of making them feel the same pain you feel."

"Wow you got all that just from my eyes? Imagine if you'd read my palm, too!"

Scott gave a sideways glare at Stiles, but he couldn't help but smile. This was who his best friend was after all. Scott said, "I only needed your eyes. You know best friends don't need words to communicate."

Scott finally noticed that Stiles' hands were trembling slightly and a single tear had rolled down his cheek. Scott placed his hand on Stiles' shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"Thanks, Scott. Really," said Stiles as they pulled up to an all too familiar place.

It was the graveyard that his mother was buried at. They exited the jeep and walked to the grave. When they arrived there, Stiles was shocked. The grave was immaculate and had  a beautiful arrangement of flowers placed on it. He had no idea how this happened because neither he nor his dad had been able to clean the grave or afford a grave cleaning.

"How?" asked Stiles.

Positively beaming, Scott replied, "I took care of it this morning. I had mom help with picking out the flowers. It's not exactly my thing."

Stiles looked at Scott, tears welling up in his eyes, and said, "Scott... You... You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, but I wanted to! It really wasn't that hard. I mean, there was a lot of dirt and crap on the grave, but you'd be surprised what werewolf powers can help you get done! I mean- OOF!"

Scott let out that sound as Stiles suddenly threw himself onto Scott, embracing him. Crying, Stiles said, "Scott, thank you so much. It means a lot to me. To my family."

Scott smiled and returned the hug, gently rubbing his best friend's back. "It's no trouble at all, man," said Scott. "You're not just my best friend, after all. You're my brother, too. You are and always have been family to me."

The hug continued for a few more moments until Stiles had regained his composure. He usually didn't get upset or cry or anything, especially after everything they'd been through lately, but this was just different. He looked at Scott and a small smile crept onto his face.

"Thanks, man. You're family to me too. You've always been there for me," said Stiles.

"And I always will be," replied Scott. "Now, what do you say we get out of here? The preserve is right over there."

Stiles nodded and the two of them paid their respects to Mrs. Stilinski before returning to the Jeep. They were going to walk to the preserve, but Scott had to get something from his backpack. He removed two brown bags from his backpack and he handed one to Stiles. Stiles looked inside and saw a sandwich, some chips, and a bottle of water inside.

"Well, we did miss lunch," said Scott. "I had a feeling we might need something, so I put these together before I left for school this morning. I hope it's alright. It's not that much, but I didn't have that much time this morning."

"No, man, it's just fine. It's a hell of a lot better than whatever the cafeteria was serving today," replied Stiles. "I'm not even sure what it was. I'm glad you saved me from eating that. You know, I don't even know what I'd call it."

Scott laughed and removed one more thing from his backpack. It was a bottle of Jack Daniels. "I thought we might also need this. Not to get wasted or anything, but to relax a bit," said Scott.

Stiles nodded and said, "Yeah, maybe it'll be good. But, um, how are we going to get back home if we're drinking?"

"Don't worry. I'll run us home."

"You sure, dude?"

"Yeah, it won't be a problem. Did you forget how fast and strong I am now?"

"I guess that's a good point. Alright, let's go."

The two of them began to walk through the woods of the preserve. Stiles wasn't sure where Scott was taking him, but he didn't care. He was feeling really down and his best friend was going out of his way to help him feel better. No one else had ever been like that. Or been able to read him like an open book despite his best efforts to hide it. That's what happens when you've been best friends with someone for so long though. After a brief walk, they reached a wide open area. There was a big lake in the center of it. So that's where Scott was taking them. Stiles remembered that he and Scott used to come here all the time as kids, especially during the summer. They walked over to an area with a ring of rocks, a fire circle. There were also some rocks nearby that seemed to be arranged like seats.

"Wow," said Stiles. "I guess no one ever comes here. It's just like it was when we were kids."

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised, too, but I guess that means we don't have to fix it all back up," said Scott. "Well, let's find a little bit of wood. There's some over there."

Scott and Stiles gathered some wood and kindling from the nearby trees and leaves and constructed a small fire in the fire ring. Scott lit it with a match from a matchbook in his pocket. The two of them sat on a big stone bench that they had made quite some time ago next to each other and started eating their lunches. They went through them pretty fast because they were starving. With lunch out of the way, Scott opened the bottle of Jack and they began taking swigs from it. The fire burned nicely, generating enough heat to keep them warm. Scott looked at Stiles.

"Stiles," said Scott. "What's on your mind? I know what day it is, but what's wrong?"

"Huh?" replied Stiles. "Nothing's wrong, man. I'm good."

"Stiles, there's no reason to hide it. I know you better than anyone and I know when you're not okay. Also, your heartbeat spiked when you answered."

"Damn werewolf hearing..."

"I knew even without my werewolf powers. I always have. You're so good at hiding it, at keeping it all inside, but I can always tell. We don't always need to speak to communicate with each other."

Stiles looked down at the ground. He could feel the buzz coming on from the Jack already. Before he knew it, a few silent tears were running down his face.

"I... I don't know," replied Stiles. "It's just really hard today, y'know? I thought I'd gotten better with this, but...."

He just trailed off. Scott scooted a little closer to Stiles on the bench and threw his arm over Stiles' shoulder.

"It's okay, man," said Scott. "It's okay to be sad. It's okay to still have a hard time when this day rolls around or any time for that matter. It's okay to remember. But, please, Stiles, never bottle up your feelings like that. I know you don't want to burden your friends, but you're not. I'll always be here for you. For anything. Okay, Stiles?"

"But you have so much else going on and so much else to worry about," said Stiles. "I can't ask you to take on my problems, too."

Scott looked Stiles straight in the eyes and said, "Stiles, I will always have time for you. I will make time for you. You're more important than anything else to me. Your problems are my problems, too, so let's work through them together, okay?"

Stiles nodded at Scott and took a really big swig from the bottle before letting his head lean over onto Scott's shoulder. He said, "Thanks, bro. There's just been so much going on lately, I guess I forgot. I think that's also why it's so hard this time. There's just been so much going on. I mean, my dad was fired once, almost killed, and is now in danger of being fired again on top of everything else. It's just a lot man."

Scott squeezed his arm around Stiles shoulder a little harder, pulling him a little closer. Scott said, "Yeah, we've been through a lot lately. You've been through a lot. A lot of which I'm responsible for and I'm sorry about that, but you know what? I know you're going to be okay."

"How do you know?"

Scott gave Stiles his brightest smile and said, "Well, you still got me for starters. But, really, you're strong, Stiles. You don't need supernatural powers or special weapons and fighting skills. You're smart. You always figure things out and you always persevere and never give up."

Stiles looked up at Scott and said, "I'm not strong, Scott. I'm not a hero either. Most of that was just luck."

"Stiles, you've endured more than everyone else. You've been through so much even before all this started. You've always handled it and you've always put things together before any of us could. Stiles, I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, you'd probably in so much shit and not know how to get out of it. Or dead somewhere."

They both laughed and Scott said, "Yeah, probably."

They continued to talk for a while longer. It was getting pretty late and Scott noticed the fire was basically down to a few tiny embers and that there was one small swig left in the bottle. Scott took it set the bottle down. He was feeling pretty good himself right now and Stiles was definitely drunk. He'd been cracking stupid jokes for the past hour or two, but Scott couldn't help but laugh really hard at all of them. Stiles said something funny again and they laughed a bit more before Stiles leaned over on to Scott. He looked like he was about 3/4 of the way asleep.

"Hey," said Stiles sleepily. "Thanks, bro. I really needed this. I love you."

Scott looked down at Stiles, smiled, and said, "I love you too, buddy."

Stiles smiled and in another instant he was sound asleep in Scott's arms. The fire had completely died out now and it was pretty dark. He pulled out his phone and texted his mom to let her know that he was with Stiles and for her not to worry. She replied a moment later with a text that said, "Ok. Love you both. Be safe." Putting his phone away, Scott closed his eyes a moment and then snapped them back open. They were a brilliant, burning red. His facial hair, teeth, and claws had appeared as well. He gently lifted Stiles onto his back and took off running at full speed while being careful not to jostle Stiles too much.

Before long, he arrived at Stiles' house. No one was home, but he let himself in with his own key. He locked the door behind himself and went up to Stiles' room. He gently placed Stiles on his bed and removed his shoes and jacket so he wouldn't have to sleep with them on. When he was done, he tucked Stiles into bed. Stiles rolled over onto his side, now facing Scott, but he was completely passed out. Scott smiled and looked down at him before he said, "Rest well, bro. You need it." He then took a seat in Stiles' rather comfortable computer chair. He would watch over Stiles tonight and make sure that he was okay. He held on for an hour, but between his own tiredness and the alcohol, Scott eventually fell asleep in the chair as well.

The sheriff returned home. He'd gotten off a little early so that he could check on Stiles. He saw that Stiles' jeep wasn't in the driveway and he didn't answer his phone, so he was worried. He went up to Stiles' room and saw Stiles sound asleep in his bed with Scott asleep in the chair, still trying to watch over him. A big smile came to Mr. Stilinski's face when he saw this and a small tear rolled down his cheek.

"Thank you, Scott," he said quietly. "Good night, boys."

With that, he closed the door, leaving the two best friends to sleep peacefully.


End file.
